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HMS Thunder Child
'' |image= |imagecaption=The only Thunder Child to appear on screen. |Feature Films= |Television Programs= |Video games= |Musical Versions=Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: The New Generation |Designer= |Inspiration=HMS Polyphemus (1881) |Engine Units= |Armament=Cannon Ram Possibly Torpedoes |Crews= |Passengers= |Other Names= |User=British Channel Fleet |Purpose= |Location=Thames Estuary, Essex |Success=Destroys Two Martian Fighting Machines |Final State=Sunk by Tripods off the Coast of Essex }} The HMS Thunder Child was a Royal Navy Torpedo Ram famous for sacrificing itself in order to protect the mass of refugee shipping fleeing the Essex coast. Her valiant efforts resulted in the destruction of two tripods and allowed the evacuation fleet to escape, including the paddle-steamer carrying the narrator's brother and his two female traveling companions. In The Novel See also: The HMS Thunder Child Incident The ship is described as a huge ironclad with several guns and twin funnels. It was also noted as being so low in the water that it appeared to be waterlogged. Adaptations In Movies The Thunder Child has only appeared in the Pendragon Pictures version of the War of the Worlds. The film wrongly portrays the vessel as a Havock-class destroyer. The battle is reversed, much like the Jeff Wayne's version, where the ship fires its cannon before ramming the tripod. The 1953 and 2005 versions completely omit any mention of the Thunder Child. The only War of the Worlds adaptation other than the Pendragon Pictures film to feature the Thunder Child was the Jeff Wayne's Musical Adaptation . Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds In Jeff Wayne's musical version of the novel, the attack of the Thunder Child is reversed from the book. In the musical the Thunder Child fires her guns as she approaches the tripods, instead of ramming them first. (The Pendragon Pictures' film also portrays this). The Thunder Child successfully rams one of the three fighting machines, cutting it down, but is sunk by the Heat ray of the other two. The Thunder Child successfully protects the steamer which is evacuating the population; including the narrator's wife, Carrie. The Album cover of the 1978 version does not accurately portray the novel's description. The cover portrays a Canopus-class battleship engaging the Martian tripod. In Games In the [[Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds (1998 Video Game)|1998 PC game Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds]], the Thunder Child can be constructed as an Ironclad warship. It's primary function is off-shore bombardment and can deliver heavy damage to all units (including airborne units) and structures. It is constructed from a Shipyard in-game. In the [[Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds (1999 Video Game)|1999 Playstation game Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds]], the 7th Level involves the player taking control of the HMS Thunder Child. While part of the level briefly involves the Thunder Child protecting the steamer from Flying Machines, the rest of the level follows the game's alternate version of the story - with the Thunder Child taking down multiple Martian machines - such as Drones, Scouting Machines and Bombarding Machines - as well as Martian structures such as Suspension Field Sites and Telepathic Training Centres. Because of the number of Martian Defenses the Thunder Child has to take down, it is notably much more durable than in the novel/musical as it is able to take multiple hits from enemies and still carry on. Finally, the Thunder Child faces the Tempest in a Boss Battle at the end of the level - successfully bringing the machine down after destroying its Black Smoke Chemical Launcher and Twin Heat-Rays. 'In Comics' Although the Thunder Child does not appear in the movie War of the Worlds: Goliath , the comic book story "The Captain" from Heavy Metal Magazine - which ties into the film - declares that the captain of the Thunder Child was called Captain Eric Wodensen, while the ship itself was referred to as a Minotaur-Class Ironclad Battleship that was already outdated when it was called into battle. 15 years on from the sinking of the ship, Captain Eric Wodensen's son would follow in his father's footsteps and become a Naval Captain working for A.R.E.S - with his son's ship (upon which a portrait of Eric Wodensen hung) taking part in the battle of New York against the Martian's Flying and Fighting-Machines; his son's ship been named the 'HMS Thunder Child II'. Real Life Counterparts The only torpedo ram of the Royal Navy was HMS Polyphemus, which may have served as inspiration for the HMS Thunder Child. There was also a Danish Torpedo Ram named Tordenskjold (ThunderSHIELD) whose similar name suggests a connection. Gallery Fea3ed8e8d7e1cb3d4ae841439d21c36.jpg|The Destruction of the Thunder Child Kk8PVn.gif|Fighting Machines Destroy The ThunderChild, In Jeff Wayne's War of the World's 83bb364a2f7ede8d4dc5eada8633ec30-d5090v6.jpg|Thunderchild Rams into Fighting Machine Screenshot 2017-09-25 at 2.24.50 PM - Edited.png| Screenshot 2017-10-24 at 12.23.46 PM.png| Screenshot 2017-10-23 at 11.43.42 AM.png| B05481fd817f09a9c6e77cafd3d98246--war-machine-science-fiction.jpg| Screen shot 2017-09-03 at 5.44.30 PM.png| Screenshot 2017-09-20 at 8.42.56 AM - Edited.png| Screenshot 2017-09-20 at 8.42.19 AM - Edited.png| Screenshot 2017-10-24 at 10.53.24 AM.png|ThunderChild's Last Stand Screenshot 2017-10-24 at 10.53.14 AM.png| Screenshot 2017-10-24 at 10.51.50 AM.png| Screenshot 2017-09-26 at 7.40.43 AM - Edited.png|Farewell Thunder Child 'See Also' *Wikipedia:HMS Thunder Child *Wikipedia: HMS Polyphemus (1881), the only historical Royal Navy warship which could accurately be described as a "torpedo ram," though without the large-caliber naval guns used by Thunder Child. Category:Human technology Category:Jeff Wayne